Llandaff Cathedral’s finances are expected to be on the up following the appointment of a former property developer as the new Dean, the cathedral chancellor said yesterday.
The Reverend Chancellor John Rowlands said the appointment of the Reverend Gerwyn Capon, 48, is a step in the right direction to reduce the cathedral’s large financial deficit.
Mr Rowlands said: “It is an excellent appointment. His experience does help, I think. We expect the deficit will be manageable very soon with all the budgeting. Within a year we should be breaking even.”
The Cathedral’s deficit reportedly stood at £81,000 in December last year, leading the chapter to cut the choir five days before Christmas.
Seven professional members of the choir were made redundant which was expected to save the cathedral £45,000.
The Reverend Gerwyn Capon, who will be installed on February 28 in time for Lent, previously helped solve financial problems in a parish in the Diocese of Blackburn.
Mr Capon, from Anglesey, first came to Llandaff in 2007 where he served as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan.
He left to work in Blackburn in 2009 but resumed the post of Chaplain in Llandaff in 2012.
The Cathedral has been left without a Dean since the resignation of The Very Reverend Janet Henderson, 55, after just two months in May last year.
Having known Mr Capon for many years, Mr Rowlands said despite the challenges of the role he is confident the new Dean will do much good for the cathedral.
“He ticks all the boxes. He’s the right age and is stable and dependable. The financial situation is one challenge, but so is the choir and a focus to build relationships.”
“He must make sure to build on the foundations already set and bring people together,” he said.
Archbishop Dr Barry Morgan is reportedly on holiday for two weeks but said: “I have every confidence that Gerwyn will be an excellent dean and parish priest.”
“He has been a great help to me and I know he will bring those gifts of tact, strength and commitment to what will be a demanding new role for him.”
